by S.B.Asoka Dissanayake Visit www,writeclique.net
There is a bizarre (somewhat insane) discussion going on local English Papers. This is something I penned down many moons ago. Reproduced here for any sane person's perusal.
Even though the discussion would end up with the illustration of the basic scientific tenants of uncertainty principle, the change and the chaos inherent in any physical or biological cycle, the conceptual development of the themes that are involved are giant steps for young minds.
The frog leap attempt is the way to reach the summit of discussion.
To come to the final conclusion one has to go through the layers of scientific concepts and behaviour pattern of nature.
The fact of the matter is constant change.
But because these changes have patterns that tend to recur in somewhat of a predictable pattern, the sequence of events that recur are called cycles and the term equilibrium is introduced to bring a concept of static nature to a dynamic change that would be chaotic if not for the patterns of regular behaviour.
The persistence of patterns gives order and consistency to recurrent events.
Weather is an ideal ground to base the conceptual thinking. That was the reason for its choice in the first place.
Having said that the professional meteorologists meager capacity to predict the weather and his negligible ability to control it warn against the complacency of the scientific notions and the teachers (myself in this discussion included) limitations.
Equilibrium states
A man with science would like to simplify facts of life for the purpose of explanation. The equilibrium states is a model well tried out for stating concepts. Sometimes in this process of simplifying facts he destroys the true tenants of reality but that is beside the point at this stage of discussion.
For the purpose of discussion we take few examples of equilibrium states.
Cycles
1.Day and Night
2.Diurnal rhythms
3.Circadian rhythms
4.Rain and the Monsoons
5.Populations and the Birth and Death of individuals
6.Photosynthesis and the Respiration
7.Clouds and the Rain
8.Wind and Pressure
9.High tide and Low tide
10.Chemical Equations
Concepts
1.Pressure
2.Temperature
3.Gravity
4.State of the Matter
5.Radiation
6.Energy
7.Thermodynamic Principles
8.Entropy
9.Atmosphere
10.Air (water vapour )and Matter (dust)
Only term not listed up there is the Time for a valid reason. To explain the day and night we need a artificial measurement be that it may be seconds, minutes, hours or days, weeks and months and years. The seconds (small but perceptible enough) and days have a meaning for the clock manufacture but the minutes and hours are arbitrary ingredients. Similarly hours and days have a meaning to the teacher and the parents and the weeks and months have no meaning (to the child).
For the child it is the play and no play (work) or the schooling and holidays and the rest of the classifications (weeks and months) are arbitrary and meaningless approximations in his life's experiences.
In a scientific sense what the child needs is to be exposed to enough experiences adequate for his perceptual (development) thinking capacity and certainly not a rigid science syllabus. I have no intention of discussing each scientific principle except a few that would have some meaningful expression in the child's mind.
Exploration
The explanations of the themes can be attempted by studying a model or an exploration. A cloud chamber in the laboratory can be a model (difficult to simulate) but in real terms unnatural for a young mind. I would go for an exploration (observation, adventure and discovery) instead of demonstration with a virtual class of students.
This exploration is laid in the in the neighbourhood of the Hantana Ranges.
Why the Hantana Range?
It is simple.
A living laboratory to investigate the laws of nature?
How the modern man is destroying it or trying to restore it to order is an object for further discussion.
Perspective
The knowledge is incremental and the wisdom is not. Acquisition of knowledge without the ability to shed prejudices (be that it may be colour, creed, class, sex or the knowledge itself) already ingrained in the conceptual development is the biggest hindrance to modern day learning.
If the correct conditions are provided the development of wisdom (peace associated with it) will ensues and of course the harmony of the world at large.
Experiment an Eco friendly one
There can be many variations to this skeleton of experimental inquiry. This is something I would have wished as a child but never was given thought by the scientific teachers of the yesteryear. But I made my inquiry not necessarily in a scientific sense but silently (rationally as was feasible at my age ) in my own time and space.
There are many more like me in this generation who are left without a guide in the search for knowledge for fun and game.
The exploration should consist of small teams. Should be limited to 5 to 10 for easy administration and division of labour without duplication of efforts and the efficiency of management.
First of all they should obtain a contour map of Kandy city (I doubt any school in Kandy have it except some understanding of the perimeter of 2 mile radius).
Then the team should identify sites for exploration for either 250 or 500 feet ( Kandy-Peradeniya bridge as a base of 1500 to 1600 feet)elevation intervals (altitude.
They should camp in these sites initially on day time (cycle) and subsequently at night (parents would go berserk.
With the day time data and their imagination they should be able work out their predictions and strategies for night. With the integration in mind, the Boy's Scouts and Girl's Guides in schools should have their own contribution to this thematic learning and experience.
I have few site for the students to investigate. They are as follows.
1.Hantana Peak (with Radio Ceylon organizing the infrastructure requirement).
2.Peradeniya River Basin (at the Campus, Peradeniya Garden and the Water intake- with Peradinya Garden, University and the Teaching Hospitals providing the infrastructure requirements).
3.Kandy Lake and the surrounds
4.And many more sites.
The equipments necessary are the minimal and what would be used by the meteorologists of Kandy. For the data the students could not obtain, the meteorologists should provide inputs of basic data (especially nocturnal).
Thermometers, barometers, compass and litmus paper would suffice.
They should make some weather balloons and few kites themselves for fun and experiment.
The whole exercise may take months of planning and execution but at the end of the day the students are enriched with meaning and understanding why we do something.
All the concepts mentioned above and many more that would arise from simple questioning and inquiry would cover the entire syllabus with minimum of theoretical knowledge.
Since the education department have canceled the advanced level practical examinations for many decades and the university has no intention of recommencing them this is the only way to rekindle the scientific inquiry and true scientific breeds.
It is the need of the day I believe.
I have avoided the exact methodology (things to be recorded by the students ) since it may look like the passage I have used for discussion.
However just to illustrate a point the student should gather at the bridge that lay across the court complex in Peradeniya and study the contents of the stream (The KUNU Ela).
It is an ideal place for a pilot project for the students before embarking on an ambitions project.
I have used this for a theoretical discussion in a global sense to make aware of the complexity involved in doing research and weather reporting.
It should not be taken in literal or metaphorical sense but with open mind to discover the uncertainty principle which is the binding rule of the Universe.
The words that I have encountered in the passage are given below for objective examination by the teacher who may think like me and the list is not comprehensive.
In every 20 words there was a technical term and it is staggeringly high for a small mind.
Would clutter even an adult mind.
If the conceptual understanding is introduced in a half baked manner the damage it does for conceptual thinking is irreversible.
List of words
1.liquid
2.solid
3.states
4.vapour
5.content (zero to about 4 percent)
6.atmosphere
7.air
8.temperature
9.dust
11.condensation nuclei
12. nuclei
13.ingredients
14.precipitation
15.The Precipitation Ladder (model)
16.stages
17.processes)
18. form
19.Ascent
20. Expansion
21.cooling
22.air parcel
23.air pockets
24.wind
25.flowing
26.horizontally.
27.vertically
28.weather processes
29.currents
30.reversing
31.air mass
32.convergence
33.convection
34.frontal lifting
35.physical lifting.
36.Convergence
37.surface
38. space
39.Frontal lifting
40.warmer
41.dense
42.ascending air
43.frontal boundary
44.Physical lifting
45.orographic lifting,
46.topographical
47.barrier
48.(volume - quantity)
49.pressure to be in equilibrium
50.expands
51.condensation
52.relative humidity
53.humidification
54.saturation
55.threshold,
56.vapour content
57.Mixing of more humid air mass.
58. Boundary
59.Supersaturation
60.condensation
61.Condensation of water onto condensation nuclei
62.deposition of water vapour as ice on freezing nuclei
63.altitude
64.cloud base
65.lifting condensation level.
66.ice crystals
67.average cloud droplet
68.terminal fall
69.velocity
70.Buoyancy or Cloudiness
71.property of water
72. latent heats of condensation
73.deposition
74.Freezing
75.heat
76.cumulus clouds
77.vertical growth.
78.continued condensation
79.collision
80.Turbulence
81.currents
82.bounce off
83flow around
84.updraft
85.collision opportunities.
86.conditions for drop growth
87.optimal conditions
88.co-exist
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